Re: the value of IRs

["Greg Tananbaum" <gtananbaum@gmail.com>]

Sandy, this is a good, provocative question: to whom does the IR 
actually make an institution visible?  I suspect this audience 
goes beyond legislators and other governmental officials.  Among 
the other constituencies an IR targets:

- Private donors.  The IR can serve as a valuable marketing tool 
for alumni associations.  It can demonstrate the vibrancy of a 
particular research unit, department, center, institute, lab, or 
program.  A graduate of Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, for 
example, might be more inclined to send an annual donation if she 
were easily able to see the ongoing scholarly output from her 
alma mater.

- Prospective students, graduate students, postdocs, and new 
faculty hires.  The IR, by rendering visible the scholarship 
associated with a specific unit, can serve as a valuable marker 
for individuals potentially interested in intersecting with that 
unit.  What is the focus of a lab's research?  What types of 
dissertations are being authored in a department? Understanding 
the output of a given unit helps folks make informed decisions 
regarding the suitability of the fit between institution and 
individual.

It is true that one might reasonably ask whether IRs are 
resonating with these audiences any more effectively than with 
legislators. It does seem likely, at the very least, that these 
constituencies are better equipped to, as Sandy wrote, "pass 
judgment as to the quality or 'relevance' of such research".


Best, Greg

Greg Tananbaum
Consulting Services at the Intersection of Technology, Content, & Academia
(510) 295-7504
gtananbaum@gmail.com
http://www.scholarnext.com